“Everything that God brings into our life...

“Everything that God brings into our life 

is directed to one purpose: 

that we might be conformed to the image of Christ.” 

-Erwin W. Lutzer

Prayer and a holy life are one...

Prayer and a holy life are one. They mutually act and react. Neither can survive alone... We are in danger of substituting churchly work and a ceaseless round of showy activities for prayer and holy living. A holy life does not live in the closet, but it cannot live without the closet. If, by any chance, a prayer chamber should be established without a holy life, it would be a chamber without the presence of God in it.  -E.M. Bounds

“The ability of God is beyond our prayers...

“The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers! I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times. What have I asked for? I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains!  I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides!  My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father’s giving: it is beyond what we can ask.”  –J. H. Jowett

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord...more

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord; but few of us willing to do little things... Look at that wonderful sermon that [Jesus] preached to that lone woman at the well of Samaria. He was tired and weary, but he had time and the heart to preach to her. This is but one of many instances in the life of the Master from which we may learn a precious lesson. If the Son of God had time to preach to one soul, cannot every one of us go and do the same?  

-Dwight Lyman Moody image

The Death of Church and Pub

by Carl R. Trueman

8/24/23

Excerpt:

The nature of community is changing. The old village has gone. One can lament the passing of parish churches and village pubs, but the type of community that birthed them has gone forever. But the human need for community—rich, real, personal community—will exist as long as our individual identities are tied up with looking into the faces of those who are “bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.” In other words, that need will exist as long as we are human beings made in God’s image. And the answer is hospitality. Churches and Christians need to think about what this looks like in our modern world as much as they think about other aspects of the faith. And the good news is that the very things Christian decry in our current culture, from its superficiality to its instability to its hopelessness—make this a time of unparalleled opportunity.  

Full essay here-excellent!  image

Behold, I have refined you...

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; 

 I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 

 -Isaiah 48:10 

As sure as God puts His children in the furnace of affliction, 

He will be with them in it.  ~Charles Spurgeon

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice...

 

Pastor Rob Burns: Peace Within

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. -Philippians 4:4-9

Let us pardon those who have wronged us...

Let us pardon those who have wronged us. For that which others scarcely accomplish—I mean the blotting out of their own sins by means of fasting and lamentations, and prayers, and sackcloth and ashes—this it is possible for us easily to effect without sackcloth and ashes and fasting, if only we blot out anger from our heart, and with sincerity forgive those who have wronged us.  -St. John Chrysostom

No matter what we pray for...

No matter what we pray for, whether it be temporal or spiritual things, little things or great things, gifts for ourselves or for others, our prayers should really resolve themselves into a quiet waiting for the Lord in order to hear what it is that the Spirit desires to have us pray for at that particular time.  

-O. Hallesby

Jesus! where’er thy people meet...

Jesus! where’er thy people meet,

There they behold thy mercy-seat;

Where’er they seek thee, thou art found,

And every place is hallow’d ground.

 

Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few!

Thy former mercies here renew;

Here to our waiting hearts proclaim

The sweetness of thy saving name.

-William Cowper

Every full-time Christian worker needs a prayer team standing with him...

Every full-time Christian worker needs a prayer team standing with him, strengthening him, and covering him with intercession. Every Christian ministry needs a burden-bearing team of prayer warriors. The effectiveness of any such ministry will depend upon the godliness of the team and the power of prayer that is marshaled behind it. God will bless any person or ministry as prayer support is deliberately enlisted and the prayer partners kept carefully informed and guided in prayer. Blessed is that person or ministry that has not only enlisted the aid of prayer helpers, but has intercessor-watchmen who carry a continual burden for the ministry.   -Wesley L. Duewel

When the poor and needy seek water...

When the poor and needy seek water,

    and there is none,

    and their tongue is parched with thirst,

I the Lord will answer them;

    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

 I will open rivers on the bare heights,

    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.

I will make the wilderness a pool of water,

    and the dry land springs of water.

 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,

    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.

I will set in the desert the cypress,

    the plane and the pine together,

 that they may see and know,

    may consider and understand together,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

-Isaiah 41:17-20

Christ Victorious

Christ Victorious (Lyric Video) – Kenwood Music

Christ is building His kingdom...

Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth’s saddest failure up to heaven’s glory.   —J.R. Miller

We find the Christian life so difficult...

We find the Christian life so difficult because we seek for God’s blessing while we live in our own will. We should be glad to live the Christian life according to our own liking. We make our own plans and choose our own work, and then we ask the Lord Jesus to come in and take care that sin shall not conquer us too much, and that we shall not go too far wrong; we ask Him to come in and give us so much of His blessing. But our relation to Jesus ought to be such that we are entirely at His disposal. -Andrew Murray

The Spirit-filled life...

“The Spirit-filled life is not a special, 

deluxe edition of Christianity. 

It is part and parcel of the total plan of God

 for His people.” -A.W. Tozer

The great need of our day is prayer...

We live in a day characterized by the multiplication of man’s machinery and the diminution of God’s power. The great cry of our day is work, work, work, new organizations, new methods, new machinery; the great need of our day is prayer. It was a master stroke of the devil when he got the church so generally to lay aside this mighty weapon of prayer. The devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organizations, and deftly contrive machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ if it will only give up praying.  -R.A. Torrey 

Come Love, come Lord...

Come Love, come Lord, and that long day

For which I languish, come away;

When this dry soul those eyes shall see,

And drink the unseal’d source of Thee;

When glory’s sun faith’s shades shall chase,

Then for Thy veil give me Thy face.

-Richard Crashaw

O Lord our God, grant us grace...

O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart; that, so desiring, we may seek, and seeking find Thee; and so finding Thee may love Thee; and in loving Thee, may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us, Amen. -St. Anselm

“Our prayers may be weak...

“Our prayers may be weak, stammering, and poor in our eyes. But if they come from a right heart, God understands them. Such prayers are His delight.” -J.C. Ryle

Franklin Graham: ‘Never Before In America Have We Seen Such Open Contempt For The Word Of God’

Franklin Graham: ‘Never Before In America Have We Seen Such Open Contempt For The Word Of God’

Excerpt: "Just a few weeks before I was in Seoul, I spoke at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Convention in Florida, the world’s largest association of Christian communicators. NRB member organizations represent millions of listeners, viewers and readers. 

I touched on how my father used television and radio from the early days of his ministry, and today at BGEA, we work to proclaim the Gospel by every effective means available to us. 

I also shared how my father used his platform to help others in ministry. As large corporate tech companies are increasingly hostile to the Christian faith, we at BGEA are taking proactive steps to help ensure we can keep on proclaiming the Gospel regardless of “progressive” policies that seek to silence us. These moves make it possible to offer strategic help to like-minded ministries that face the same dangers.

Make no mistake, the cancel culture from woke businesses, schools and corporations is coming hard after Christians who are faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in matters involving mankind’s sin, God’s holiness, and Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). As Jesus advised His disciples on His last night with them: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

I warned the thousands at the NRB convention that a storm is coming, and we’d better be ready because it appears as if all the demons in hell have been turned loose. Never before in America have we seen such open contempt for the Word of God.

And when I say demons, I mean just that." 

The rest here: https://harbingersdaily.com/franklin-graham-never-before-in-america-have-we-seen-such-open-contempt-for-the-word-of-god/

Prayer for our nation...

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure conduct. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom, in Thy Name, we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  -2019 BCP

O God of earth and altar...

O God of earth and altar,

Bow down and hear our cry,

Our earthly rulers falter,

Our people drift and die;

The walls of gold entomb us,

The swords of scorn divide,

Take not Thy thunder from us,

But take away our pride.

 

From all that terror teaches,

From lies of tongue and pen,

From all the easy speeches

That comfort cruel men,

From sale and profanation

Of honor and the sword,

From sleep and from damnation,

Deliver us, good Lord.

 

Tie in a living tether

The prince and priest and thrall,

Bind all our lives together,

Smite us and save us all;

In ire and exultation

Aflame with faith, and free,

Lift up a living nation,

A single sword to Thee.

-Gilbert Keith Chesterton 

image

I, a pilgrim of eternity, stand before Thee, O eternal One...

O Eternal God, though Thou art not such as I can see with my eyes or touch with my hands, yet grant me this day a clear conviction of Thy reality and power. Let me not go forth to my work believing only in the world of sense and time, but give me grace to understand that the world I cannot see or touch is the most real world of all. My life to-day will be lived in time, but eternal issues will be concerned in it. The needs of my body will be clamant, but it is for the needs of my soul that I must care most. My business will be with things material, but behind them let me be aware of things spiritual. Let me keep steadily in mind that the things that matter are not money or possessions, not houses or lands, not bodily comfort or bodily pleasure; but truth and honour and meekness and helpfulness and a pure love of Thyself.

For the power Thou hast given me to lay hold of things unseen:

For the strong sense I have that this is not my home:

For my restless heart which nothing finite can satisfy:

I give Thee thanks, O God.

For the invasion of my soul by Thy Holy Spirit:

For all human love and goodness that speak to me of Thee:

For the fullness of Thy glory outpoured in Jesus Christ:

I give Thee thanks, O God.

I, a pilgrim of eternity, stand before Thee, O eternal One. Let me not seek to deaden or destroy the desire for Thee that disturbs my heart. Let me rather yield myself to its constraint and go where it leads me. Make me wise to see all things to-day under the form of eternity, and make me brave to face all the changes in my life which such a vision may entail: through the grace of Christ my Saviour. Amen.  -John Baillie image

How Great Thou Art!

A young girl shares a sweet moment with her great grandmother when she serenades her with ‘How Great Thou Art.’

Then at the end something unexpected happens 💕

pic.twitter.com/ATtSlJ4IDS

— Kevin W. (@Brink_Thinker) June 3, 2023

Book: "A Praying Church", by Paul E. Miller

Hey all-I am reading "A Praying Church" by Paul E. Miller.  A great read-biblical, encouraging and a great reminder for the contempary church of the importance of corporate prayer in the body of believers. -PD

Excerpt: “The American church is functionally prayerless when it comes to corporate prayer,” he writes. “Of course, a remnant does the hidden work of prayer, but in most churches corporate prayer doesn’t function in any meaningful way.”

 

Cultivating a Praying Church with Paul E. Miller 

 Amazon

A Prayer for Memorial Day

A Prayer for Memorial Day

Holy God, your love is stronger than death,

and your life-giving power has no end.

We commend to your eternal care

all who have died in the service of others,

even as we lament the violence of war.

Comfort and sustain all those who mourn.

Heal the wounded body, mind, and spirit.

Bring justice, freedom, and dignity to all people

and bring an end to war throughout the earth

so that all may know your promised peace;

through Christ, the resurrection and the life.

-David Gambrell

O God of burning, cleansing flame...

O God of burning, cleansing flame:

Send the fire!

Your blood-bought gift today we claim:

Send the fire today!

Look down and see this waiting host,

And send the promised Holy Ghost;

We need another Pentecost!

Send the fire today!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:

Send the fire!

And make us fit to live or die:

Send the fire today!

To burn up every trace of sin,

To bring the light and glory in,

The revolution now begin!

Send the fire today!

It’s fire we want, for fire we plead:

Send the fire!

The fire will meet our every need:

Send the fire today!

For strength to always do what’s right,

For grace to conquer in the fight,

For power to walk the world in white:

Send the fire today!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave:

Send the fire!

To live, a dying world to save:

Send the fire today!

Oh, see us on Your altar lay,

We give our lives to you today,

So crown the offering now we pray:

Send the fire today!

-William Booth 

National Day of Prayer 2023: Praying for America

Thursday May 4th, 2023

God is sovereign and nothing comes as a surprise to Him. Whether we face fluctuating economics, threats from abroad, unrest at home, or other troubling circumstances, our Heavenly Father is not caught unaware. Through prayer, we are able to tap into His wisdom, strength, protection, and peace. He stands ready to respond to our needs when we humbly ask for divine intervention in the affairs of men.

As we Pray for America whose pledge of allegiance recounts that we are “one nation under God,” and whose currency states that it is “in God we trust,” we want Americans to encounter the God who rules over their country. “He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God Almighty is His name.” -Amos 4:13 NIV

He is the One who gave us this promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” As we humbly and diligently seek Him, we’ll be changed, and we’ll see transformation in America through prayer!

HOW TO PRAY FOR AMERICA - BY PRAYING INTO SEVEN CENTERS OF INFLUENCE IN OUR NATION

The day may bring many strange things to us...

The day may bring many strange things to us, perplexing or painful or disappointing; but this stands strong: our prayer has not been turned away, nor His loving kindness.   -Amy Carmichael

What was our Lord thinking about as He walked along the roads of Galilee...

What was our Lord thinking about as He walked along the roads of Galilee, so often alone? What were His thoughts in times of repose during the journeys by boat that He liked making with His disciples after a day's exhausting preaching? What occupied His mind among the hills where He liked to go alone, without even the disciples? The answer, we may think, is easy: He was thinking of men, of sinners and their salvation, and what He had to do to effect that salvation.

But, surprising as it may seem to us, it wasn't with us that Jesus was concerned. The constant object of His meditation, the natural orientation of His heart and mind and soul, the food that constantly nourished Him, was His Father. ...Louis Everly

He is risen, He is risen!

He is risen, He is risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice:

He has burst his three days' prison;

Let the whole wide earth rejoice:

Death is conquered, man is free,

Christ has won the victory.

Come, with high and holy hymning,

Chant our Lord's triumphant day;

Not one darksome cloud is dimming

Yonder glorious morning ray,

Breaking o’er the purple east,

Symbol of our Easter feast.

He is risen, He is risen!

He hath opened heaven's gate:

We are free from sin's dark prison,

Risen to a holier state;

And a brighter Easter beam

On our longing eyes shall stream.

-Joachim Neander image

LORD, God of my salvation...

LORD, God of my salvation;

I cry out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry!

 

For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am a man who has no strength,

like one set loose among the dead,

like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom you remember no more,

for they are cut off from your hand.

You have put me in the depths of the pit,

in the regions dark and deep.

Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves.

 

You have caused my companions to shun me;

you have made me a horror to them.

I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

my eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call upon you, O LORD;

I spread out my hands to you.

Do you work wonders for the dead?

Do the departed rise up to praise you?

Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,

or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

Are your wonders known in the darkness,

or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

 

But I, O LORD, cry to you;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?

Why do you hide your face from me?

Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,

I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.

Your wrath has swept over me;

your dreadful assaults destroy me.

They surround me like a flood all day long;

they close in on me together.

You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;

my companions have become darkness.

-Psalm 88 

My faith looks up to Thee!

My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!

Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,

O let me from this day be wholly Thine!

 

May Thy rich grace impart

Strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire!

As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee,

Pure warm, and changeless be, a living fire!

 

While life’s dark maze I tread,

And griefs around me spread, be Thou my Guide;

Bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away,

Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.

When ends life’s transient dream,

When death’s cold sullen stream over me roll;

Blest Savior, then in love, fear and distrust remove;

O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!

-Ray Palmer

The Lord Jesus loves his people so much...

Then He poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. -John 13:5

 

The Lord Jesus loves his people so much, that every day he is still doing for them much that is analogous to washing their soiled feet. Their poorest actions he accepts; their deepest sorrow he feels; their slenderest wish he hears, and their every transgression he forgives. He is still their servant as well as their Friend and Master....humbly, patiently, he yet goes about among his people with the basin and the towel. He does this when he puts away from us day by day our constant infirmities and sins....It is a great act of eternal love when Christ once for all absolves the sinner, and puts him into the family of God; but what condescending patience there is when the Saviour with much long-suffering bears the oft recurring follies of his wayward disciple; day by day, and hour by hour, washing away the multiplied transgressions of his erring but yet beloved child!....While we find comfort and peace in our Lord’s daily cleansing, its legitimate influence upon us will be to increase our watchfulness, and quicken our desire for holiness. Is it so?  ...CH Spurgeon image

Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang...

Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang;

 Through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang.  

To Jesus, who had blessed them close folded to His breast,  

The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.

 

From Olivet they followed mid an exultant crowd,  

The victor palm branch waving, and chanting clear and loud.  

The Lord of men and angels rode on in lowly state,  

Nor scorned that little children should on His bidding wait.

 

“Hosanna in the highest!” that ancient song we sing,  

For Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven our king.  

O may we ever praise Him with heart and life and voice,  

And in His blissful presence eternally rejoice! .

-Jeanette Threlfall

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God...

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. -Luke 1:26-38

“At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky...

“At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky 

And flinging the cloud and the towers by, 

Is a place of central calm: 

So here in the roar of mortal things, 

I have a place where my spirit sings, 

In the hollow of God’s Palm.”

-Edwin Markham

May the Strength of God pilot us...

May the Strength of God pilot us.

May the Power of God preserve us.

May the Wisdom of God instruct us.

May the Hand of God protect us.

May the Way of God direct us.

May the Shield of God defend us.

May the Host of God guard us.

Against the snares of the evil ones.

Against temptations of the world

May Christ be with us!

May Christ be before us!

May Christ be in us,

Christ be over all!

May Thy Salvation, Lord,

Always be ours,

This day, O Lord,

and evermore. Amen.

...St. Patrick image

A genuine Christian should be a walking mystery...

A genuine Christian should be a walking mystery because he surely is a walking miracle. Through the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is involved in a daily life and habit that cannot be explained. -A.W. Tozer

Ye hills, lift up your voices...

Ye hills, lift up your voices; let the shaggy woods upon your summits wave with adoration. Ye valleys, fill the air with the bleatings of your sheep and the lowing of your cattle. Ye that have life, if ye have voices, tune his praise; and if ye walk in silence, let your joyful motions show the thanks ye cannot speak. O, ye trees of the field, clap your hands; ye winds, in solemn harmony chant to his glory. 

Thou ocean, with thy myriad waves, in all thy solemn pomp, thy motion to and fro, forget not him who bids a thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain, and write no furrow on thy ever youthful brow. 

And you, ye storms, howl out his greatness; let your thunders roll like drums in the march of the God of armies; let your lightnings write his name in fire upon the midnight darkness; let the illimitable void of space become one mouth for song; and let the unnavigated ether, through its shoreless depths, bear through the infinite remote the name of him who is ever good and doeth good. -CH Spurgeon image

Lord make me as holy...

“Lord make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be.”

— Robert Murray M'Cheyne

You will never find Jesus so precious....

You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then he is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation—a rock rising above the storm.   

 -Robert Murray M’Cheyne